UMass Law School Wins Provisional Accreditation

The state's first public law school has received provisional accreditation from the American Bar Association.

The approval granted Tuesday allows graduates of the University of Massachusetts School of Law in Dartmouth to take the bar exam in any state, rather than just in Massachusetts and Connecticut as currently allowed.

The provisional accreditation is also expected to boost applications to the school, which currently has 325 students.

If the school complies with ABA standards for the next three years, it will receive full accreditation.

Gov. Deval Patrick called the ABA's announcement a "great day for UMass."

Massachusetts' first public law school, formerly known as Southern New England School of Law, donated itself to the UMass system in 2010.